 |
 |
||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
The Rocky Mountain Nationals are presented on SpeedZone by .....................
June 28 , 2005 Edmonton Pro Mod The Pro Mod gallery is here (Photos courtesy Bill Jeffery, Sheryl Ogonoski and Dean Murdoch) Numbers courtesy DRC.com and IHRA.com. The Pro classes will all have their own page. Top Fuel is here, Pro Stock is here, Funny car is here A Pro Mod gallery is here. A good crowd was on hand for the first round of qualifying for all pro classes, and Pro Mods were "THE" big show. Pro Stock saw new track records in MPH and et so there was anticipation that the same would happen in the baddest doorcar class. While many were anticipating a possible teen run, most thought it was unlikely. The first 6.20 lap was put down by track record holder Harold Martin, who came within .06 of matching last year's 6.223. He ran a 6.280/226.43, and from there the hits just kept on coming. Alberta's favourite son, and two time R/U Rick Distefano layed down a 6.244/223.62 to the delight of crowd. Unfortunately for Rick and the partisan crowd, three pairs later, Jim Halsey layed down an awesome 6.204 225.33 to smash the old record. The crowd still went wild! Mike Janis right beside Halsey, broke the track speed record with a 228.23 speed, attached to a 6.266 et. But in the final pairing, Al Billes showed that Jim Oddy can make HP, as Billes went 6.221 at a simply awesome 232.27 mph. What a way to end first round of qualifying.
Round two---Night of Fire ----9:00 pm just before Top Fuel was set to light up the evening sky, Pro Mod made their second blast down the Bud Park 1/4 mile. Vern Mills ran a career best 6.40 in the second pair, to move into the field, temporarily in the #13 spot. Dennis Radford was the second to make a big jump on the ladder, as he went 6.315 to move to the # 9 spot. Lee Smith and Kenny Lang both moved into the field in the next pairing and then Carl Spiering and Ross Hogenson both slowed from their first round efforts. Ed Hoover improved by .01 and Quain Stott found another tenth (6.302) from round one to further tighten the field. Then the hits came in droves. Mike Castellana ripped off a 6.232 at a new nitrous track record speed of 227.50 mph. Then two more nitrous cars lined up, Shannon Jenkins and Harold Martin. Surely we would see more 6.2 laps from these two. Yes we did, and they were separated by just a whisker, a 6.253 for Jenkins and a 6.255 for Martin. Almost half the field was in the 6.20's. Rickie "D" was next and he did not disappoint, as his turned in a quicker lap than he has ever gone at Bud Park, a solid 6.224/227.88 that had the crowd in a frenzy. Janis shook the tires along side Distefano. In the last pair, under optimum conditions, Al Billes shocked the 10,000 on hand , with an unheard of 3500 foot elevated 6.150/234.53! And to quote Bob Frey, the crowd went wild! While it wasn't local hero Distefano to run the first teen at Bud Park, it was still a Canadian who did the deed. The fans were hoping that Top Fuel would be as good. It was pretty good also. Here is Friday qualifying
Saturday qualifying...............unfortunately did not happen, as the rains came in the form of a light mist to heavy drizzle and lasted right throughthe early evening, until they finally called the rest of qualifying at 7:00 PM They could of waited a couple more hours and it would not have happened then either. Unfortunately for the crowd, they never got the chance to see any more hits or a possible 6.30 bump. The bump spot was held down by Lethbridge Alberta's Ross Hogenson who went his career best 6.48/218. West coasters outside the filed, include Joe Delehay who was one more run away from completed getting his truck sorted out, I talked to him around the qualifying was set, and was told that the crux of all is problems in the last four races as mainly suspension issues that the team was confident they had sorted out. He was certain the car would run a low 6.40 or 6.30 if they has one more shot. Pat Stoken also struggled, but his problem was going the power to the ground. The track was so good, they missed the right clutch and trans ratio setup they they would of likely gotten if there was one more qualifier. Tim Vogt ran a career best 6.57 but needed another tenth to qualify for the first time. Full time competitors Eddie Ware and Billie Harper did not play on Sunday either. Here were the first
round pairings. #1 Al Billes vs #16 Ross Hogenson, #2 Jim Halsey
Vs #15 Kenny Lang, #3 Rick Di Stefano Vs #15 Vern Mills, #4 Mike
Castellana Vs #13 Lee Smith, #5 Shannon Jenkins Vs #12 Carl Spiering,
#6 Harold Martin Vs #11 Dennis Radford, #7 Mike Janis Vs #10 Ed
Hoover, and #8 Quain Stott Vs #9 Burton Auxier. Round one eliminations, Sunday
Sunday dawned with very cool and threatening skies.
The forecast was fairly positive, but with 80% humidity and 65 degree
temperatures and a 67 degree track, teams had to be very cautious
about what kind of tune-up they put in their cars. Primarily the
high horse power cars. Local Rick Distefano was in the first pair
out and he did not disappoint, Running a consistent 6.246 to easily
dispatch of a tire shaking Vern Mills. Quain Stott defeated Grand
Bend winner Burton Auxier with a 6.287 to a pedaling 6.902. Mike
Janis followed the two winners in front of him with a 6.273 victory
over a tire
In the 1/4 finals, Rick "D" burned a piston but had more than enough in the bank to defeat Dennis Radford who shook and lifted (6.339 - 13.201), Quain Stott stayed in the 6.20's and won a very close one over Alberta's Ross Hogenson, who had a .046 advantage at the tree. Stott's 6.295 drove around Hogenson's career best 6.373 by just over a hundredth. Carl Spiering ran his best ever lap at Bud Park, a 6.265 to edge Castellana's 6.284 by .006, and the East Coast's newest nitrous hitter, Jiim Halsey kept the hits a comin', with an even quicker 6.177 to defeat a deflated Mike Janis who went a very solid 6.248. He was quicker than every other winner.
Based on the numbers throughout the weekend, Spiering had to be a considerable underdog, but it is hard to count out anyone in the final, as all the teams performed flawlessly all weekend. The final was very close, as the "big Dog" had .032 starting line advantage, but the nitrous car had made up that advantage by 60 feet and they stayed within .02 for the entire 1320. Spiering made it very close at the stripe as he crossed the line 5 mph faster than Halsey, but still fell .011 short of victory. What a weekend, and what a day for the full stand at Bud Park. They certainly got their moneys worth, as it was easily one of the best Sundays, this reporter has ever seen.
Points 1. Al Billes 350 The Pro Mod gallery is
here
Sunday -- Sportsman final round elimination's -- Sunday Thunderbolts -- Jay Mageau, Chevy Bel Air, 7.635, 166.99 def. Tony Kupris, Ford Thunderbird, 7.688, 183.84. Nitro Bikes -- Ron Houniet, Harley, 6.808, 201.10 def. Brian Hall, Harley, 6.918, 203.40. Top Dragster -- Britt Cummings, Dragster, 7.832, 155.36 def. John Evans, Dragster, 7.763, 169.59. Top Sportsman -- Dale Giroux, Chevy Cavalier, 7.535, 174.28 def. Bob Marshall, Pontiac Grand Am, 7.479, 185.15. Quick Rod -- Ken Mostowich, Chevy Cavalier, 9.086, 160.81 def. Francesca Plaizier, Dragster, 9.074, 162.12. Super Rod -- Scott Taylor, Ford Roadster, 10.041, 150.60 def. Daryl Baker, Roadster, 10.105, 137.47. Hot Rod -- Curtis Smith, Pontiac Acadian, 11.036, 125.97 def. David Senkow, Ford Mustang, broke. Super Stock -- Mark Faul, Pontiac Grand Am, 10.263, 119.71 def. Art Congdon, Oldsmobile Calais, 9.896, 127.90. Stock -- Randy Hutchings, Dodge Ram, 12.403, 104.69 def. Mark Faul, Chevy Chevelle, 11.255, 110.87. ET Bracket -- Adolph Sabourin, 11.882, 113.13 def. Darren Williams, 8.839, 153.49. ET Box -- Darren Williams, 8.863, 145.42 def. Monty Isert, 8.697, 152.18. |
|||||||||||||||||
|
Everything on this site is
copyright © Speedzone Magazine 2003/2004/2005. All rights reserved.
Nothing can be reproduced in any way without written consent of the
publisher and/or the individual copyright holders of images and/or text.
|
0
0
shaking
Ed Hoover, and Dennis Radford won a pealing contest with Harold
Martin. Radford recovered by 150 feet and went on for a 6.94/215
victory. Jim Halsey proved the track was more than manageable, as
he turned in the 2nd quickest nitrous lap in Canadian Pro Mod history,
a 6.182 to take out a 6.490 by Kenny Lang. With a great run like
that, everyone was wondering what Billes would do. He was up next
against Ross Hogenson. UPSET!! Both cars left together and Billes
started to move ahead, but got loose around 500 feet and moved very
close to the centre line. Hogenson was shaking the tires, and he
to pedal his ride as well. He recovered and Billes had to bail out
as he got closer and closer to the centre line and could not bring
it back. Finally, he had to pull the chutes literally on his run
and Ross drove around him for a shocking 6.53/214 - 6.798/143 victory.
WOW! The final two pairings were great side by sides, as Mike Castellana
defeated a quicker leaving Lee Smith 6.243 - 6.345 and Carl Spiering
upset quicker qualifier Shannon Jenkins 6.316 - 6.382. What a round!
The
semi final pairings saw two Canadians and two Americans. One of
the American's (Quain Stott) was a previous winner and and one of
the Canadians (Distefano) was a two time R/U. Could either make
it to the final round again? The answer was no, as both lost in
the semis. Rick Distefano lost to the heavy hitting Halsey, who
slowed to a 6.20, but Rick was back by .04 at the hit and his 6.248
ended up .088 back at the stripe. Spiering improved on his Bud Park
best with a strong 6.231 that had Stott's 6.273 covered by .058
at the finish line.
